In an interview to The Vancouver Sun, Bobby Taylor (73; formerly Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers) talked about his time at Motown and how he discovered and worked with The Jackson 5.
Bobby Taylor had signed to the Motown label in 1966. Two years later he and guitarist Tommy Chong discovered the Jackson 5 when the group opened for the Vancouvers during a 10-day revue show in Chicago. Taylor recollects the first time he saw Michael Jackson:
“I just loved to watch that little sucker dance.”
After the Chicago shows, he immediately took the group to Detroit and brought them to the attention of Motown, where they were signed. While others such as James Brown, Gladys Knight and most notably Diana Ross would take credit for “discovering” the Jackson 5, it was Taylor who had the greatest impact on them initially.
Bobby Taylor put his singing career on hold and worked on producing the Jackson 5’s first five albums. He also wrote the group’s early hits ‘Ben’, ‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘I’ll Be There’ and ‘Maybe Tomorrow’:
“I worked a lot with Michael Jackson. He was eight at the time. He was the voice. He had the tools. He screamed a lot. He was a James Brown at that time. Jermaine was okay and Jackie was okay. So those are the three that I used.”
His work, however, went uncredited when he fell out with the Motown brass. He later sued the label and won but claims he has yet to see any money. Taylor said his fight with Motown bothered him so much that he quit his career and admits he was “stupid for that.”
“I have a whole bunch of them that I am still not getting paid for from Motown — Jacksons mainly. Beat ‘em in court, never got paid.”
Taylor, who recently gained quite some success in China, also said he was currently looking for a Chinese version of the Jackson 5 and was confident they were out there.
To read the complete interview, click here.
Source: The Vancouver Sun
